Coin-operated amusement rides are a familiar feature of many shopping precincts and amusement arcades throughout the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world. The rides are generally compact electrically-powered devices comprising a base drive unit having a driven support arm extending upwardly therefrom and supporting a moulding of a suitable, generally fanciful, design, for example of a cartoon animal, a transport vehicle or other figure, and having a seat mounted thereon or formed integrally therewith. The support arm is generally arranged to oscillate to provide the seat with a cyclical fore-and-aft and/or up-and-down and/or side-to-side motion once the ride has been initiated by inserting the requisite number of coins or tokens into a pay box.
A recent development of the kiddie ride provides the user with a present, or "prize", as a further inducement to use the ride and/or as a memento, or as a method of vending articles such as toys in a novel way. In such systems the ride generally dispenses the present at the start or finish of the ride's session. Such a system is disclosed in GB-A-2 179 56 1.
As a memento of the ride, however, a novelty present has no special significance. It would be more desirable to provide a record of the experience.